Well, I stand corrected on my brews at least, I had an odd like off flavor, hard to describe, tasted like a cidery yeast. Sorry not good at describing off flavors. I follow the directions 21 days in the LBK, about as long conditioning in the bottle, and then a few days in the fridge. I have since changed my mind like many others. I might have rushed the whole process. I noticed one I drank today which has been bottled since sometime later August didn't taste half bad, and I was enjoying it instead of just choking it down. I really think after reading the instructions carefully that my beer might have been still fermenting, as the beer had some sweet taste to it when I bottled. So I might not have had off flavors at all, but really just normal quick fermentation jitters, and lack of patience!

I was just reading up on the comments, thinking if it doesn't seem to be controlled or affected by brewing temps, or the way the beer was handled post bottling, etc and several experiments have came about what else could be a possibility. Then it hit me, something possibly overlooked in the in process, which we don't even put our beer into, or even use other than while making the wort!? The can the HME comes in! I am not saying its a sure thing, but how often do you buy can goods and they have an off flavor, or aluminum, steel, etc cans have a metallic odor and taste to them. What if that flavor/odor is lending itself into the HME as it is stored or even warmed to get it out of the can? Anyone think its possible or am I thinking way outside the box?
I did find this article on the subject of LME vs DME
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/lme-vs-dme-which-is-best-for-your-brewing/
Which says this......
"While LME is said to have a shelf life of up to two years under ideal conditions (cool, dark and dry), it does have the tendency to experience degradation over time. The color of LME can nearly double when stored improperly and/or for long periods of time.This darkening can be the cause of off flavors reminiscent to licorice, molasses, ballpoint pen and soap. Combined, these off flavors are likely the stale, “extract twang” people sometimes experience."
Those would be twang flavors for sure, and not fitting into the other category of other off flavors developed by high fermentation, poor handling, etc

I realized the same, after I found a gallon Brewery in the Box kit on Ebay I thought was a good deal. Until I realized I have no kettle or pot large enough for a larger brew! I could always divide among 2 LBK's and then batch them out from my 5 gallon bottling bucket.

Thanks for your suggestion, I just came across it.
I might have to order some of this yeast before I end up with another bad batch, I had batched 3 LBK brews within a close span. I marked them out on the calendar, and bottled in the 3 week in the LBK as suggested by the instructions. The tastes were fine, without noticeable issues. I have since got to the point of conditioning them, and had several in the fridge for up to a week. From the 1st 2 batches, I have noticed that the color seems rather off, although during bottling and sampling prior to conditioning it didn't seem that off. Both my Oktoberfest, and my Cream Ale, have a darker amber color. They smell fine, other than a little yeasty at times, but the flavor is just off and I have been trying to figure it out. I think that I killed off the yeasts early in the process. I keep the house about 78 in the summer, and I had placed the LBK's in the closet, without any extra air flow, or cool mechanism. I did have a stick on temp gauge that was showing me around 76 or so steady. Noticing now in the instructions that that temp is less than ideal, and given that the inside happenings of the yeast were cooking, it likely was higher there. I know at least the first 4-5 days or longer the yeasts were doing their things, because I could still see bubbles, and can rule out infection, as nothing was ever noticed floating or odd odors before bottling. I suppose it has something to do with the conditioning process, and trying to shock the yeasts back into carbonating my bottles. I guess I need a more warm hearty yeast.

My first brew seemed to come up a bit short, but my next I made sure I had just the right amount of water added and the keg on a flat surface to confirm. Keep using sugar its easy and available, get yourself a cheap funnel that will fit into the bottle, thats what I did. I used the 8 Pet bottles and just came up short on my last bottle of my first brew, plenty on my 2nd brew to fill all 8 and went back to top them off.

Just passing along that on an aisle at a neighboring city, I found canned Oregon Fruits. These cans were priced close to the price Mr Beer has. I found them at Walmart in the grocery area, on the bottom shelf. So keep your eyes peeled on the bottom shelves.

You won't see the carbonation. If you bottled in PET bottles, you can squeeze the bottles gently and see if they are starting to firm up. The beer will look clear, as everything should drain to the bottom. Even with your "national" brands of beer, you don't see anything in the bottle as far as bubbles go, unless you pop the top.

As mentioned several times, most of the yeasts that come in the kits are fast acting, and do their job quite well. I did have some on top of mine, and it left some difficult to remove junk around the edges after I bottled today. I put me some Oxi-Clean Free in the keg and added water, about 30 minutes later the keg was cleaned efficiently.

I started using a PUR faucet mounted filter after the city water started smelling stronger of chlorine a few months ago. The vendor who the city purchases water from, started adding some more, to clean out some lines etc.

I think everyone including myself when they started out read the Mr. Beer instructions and assumed they were the best way to make a quality beer. In fact it seems that time is of the essense. And giving it more time doesn't hurt. The instructions are the bare minimums to get beer quickly, after all most of the time you see it advertised as beer in as little as 4 weeks.